Chapter 5 (2/2)

She found him; he was in the white team. Yun Jin was confused that she was able to identify his physique so readily. But then again, it was no great feat even if the boys were all over the place. He was tall and lean and his tanned skin was in stark contrast to the ivory jersey and he emanated vigour. Yun Jin was really clueless about soccer but she had to admit that Cheng Zheng was mesmerizing when he played.

“On this field, how many girls are really interested in soccer? They’re merely using it as an excuse to blatantly ogle and cheer for him.” Mo Yu Hua calmly remarked as she gazed at the pitch.

Yun Jin waited for her to resume talking but realised that the speaker was not even looking at her but watching a certain athlete attentively. Yun Jin followed her line of vision curiously… It’s him? She was shocked! There was nothing more surprising than this revelation.

Yun Jin stole another glance at Mo Yu Hua whose plain features expressed a usual stiffness. Perhaps she could sense it; Mo Yu Hua c.o.c.ked her head and looked at Yun Jin as though she had caught her in the act “Seeing as I’m not interested in your popular man, you must be relieved.”

Yun Jin felt her face turn warm, “He’s most certainly not mine.”

“I didn’t even specify who “he” is. You don’t really dislike Cheng Zheng do you?” Mo Yu Hua teased but she followed it up with self-mockery. “Puppy love is inevitable. Everyone might be stifled by the mountain of study material but sometimes, thoughts still wander…” She paused before adding “It’s ridiculous isn’t it? Even you can see that we’re incompatible.”

“I wasn’t thinking that …” Yun Jin was quick to deny.

“It doesn’t matter if you think that or not. I sure don’t want to delude myself into thinking there is a possibility between us.” Mo Yu Hua continued to stare after the white-clad boy. It was as if the vocal crowd surrounding them had melted away into oblivion and in that vast s.p.a.ce, only she and the boy existed. Yun Jin noticed for the first time what Mo Yu Hua’s plain appearance was exceptionally radiant.

Yun Jin stared at the field in a daze. After Mo Yu Hua’s confession, she had announced that she hadn’t finished listening to her audio tape and had abandoned Yun Jin on the field.

Yun Jin still hadn’t recovered from the shock of her revelation. While she interacted with Mo Yu Hua fairly more often than with others, they were both introverts. They didn’t have a particularly close friends.h.i.+p what more a heart-to-heart chat like they just had. She couldn’t understand why Mo Yu Hua would reveal a girl’s closely guarded secret so readily to her. Maybe, Yu Hua had wanted validation of the possibility of such a romance. Yun Jin never thought a studious girl like Mo Yu Hua was struggling with affairs of the heart underneath that cool exterior.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she paid no attention to the excitement on the field. When she finally came to, most of the spectators were starting to leave. The match had ended.

She followed the crowd but had yet to pa.s.s the gates when a person drenched in perspiration caught up with her and jostled for position next to her.

“Why are you here? I thought someone wasn’t interested?” Cheng Zheng purposely heckled her although he wore a huge satisfied grin. Yun Jin took a step back, unwilling to let his drops of perspiration fall onto her. She replied dully “The field doesn’t belong to you. Anyone can come as they please.”

“When did you arrive? How come I didn’t see you just now?”

“…”

“But you must admit that was a good goal right?” Cheng Zheng ignored Yun Jin’s non-reply and asked hopefully.

“What goal?” Yun Jin had no idea what he was talking about.

Cheng Zheng’s good mood evaporated in an instant. It was as if he was a little child awaiting praise only to meet the huge wet-blanket that was Yun Jin. In fact, he realised her gaze wasn’t even directed at him but at someone behind him.

Yun Jin studied Zhou Zi Yi who was standing not far behind Cheng Zheng. She found it hard to pair up this handsome and carefree spirit with the likes of Mo Yu Hua. She could almost comprehend Mo Yu Hua’s despondence earlier when she had looked at him. Naturally, she didn’t sense Cheng Zheng’s thunderstruck expression after he discovered the object of her attention.

Cheng Zheng was stupefied. When he thought that she had finally willingly came to watch him play, that moment of jubilation was even sweeter than when he had scored a goal. But he realised that he was never her male lead from start to end.

“Hey, let go!” Yun Jin was caught by surprise when Cheng Zheng dragged her off. There were still quite a few people milling about and they were mostly their batchmates. When Cheng Zheng had beelined for her to engage her in conversation, people had already taken note and were watching in antic.i.p.ation and now with this entanglement, even more eyes were looking their way.

Yun Jin blushed a bright beetroot and used all her strength to wriggle out of Cheng Zheng’s grasp but she was no match for him. She didn’t dare cause further commotion for fear of garnering more unwanted attention and thus whispered fiercely “Cheng Zheng are you nuts? People are looking!”

Cheng Zheng tossed her arm angrily. “You’re not afraid of people looking. You’re just scared he would see aren’t you!”

Yun Jin knew this could easily be misinterpreted as a lovers’ spat and was so abashed she wanted to worm her way into the ground. She wanted to chide him but in her emotional state, was unable to form a coherent comeback. She didn’t want this to drag out any longer and wanted to leave immediately. Stat. Right away. She did not realise that her silence and avoidance of his question only hurt Cheng Zheng even more.

Before she could flee, he could not hold it in any longer and yelled “It’s no use liking him! As though anyone would ever fall for you.”

Yun Jin stopped dead in her tracks before upping her speed without a backwards glance.

She had not looked back but Cheng Zheng knew his words had struck a chord. She affected him so greatly, how could he just let her waltz away intact? But he was unable to feel joy over his tooth-for-tooth actions. In the deepest trenches of his heart, a small voice needled him How am I incomparable to him?

Zhou Zi Yi finally caught up to Cheng Zheng and slung his arm around him as was his usual habit. However, Cheng Zheng shrugged off his arm angrily. Zi Yi rubbed his nose in confusion. Had he offended Cheng Zheng?

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